Chronic inflammatory processes in the liver and adipose tissues result in lipid abnormalities and Metabolic Syndromes. Chronic inflammation in other tissues also has a number of clinical implications including atherosclerosis, cardio-vascular disease, obesity, diabetes type 2, cancer, sarcopenia, gastritis, stomach or duodenum ulcers, arthritis, dermatological diseases and aging of skin and other organs. There are a number of reports associating the development of those conditions with the presence of Chlamydia infection. Mechanisms for how Chlamydia infection can reach the liver, alter lipid metabolism and trigger oxidative cascades have recently been reported [5-10].
Cytokines and in particular interleukins, lymphokines, and interferons are important in controlling inflammatory reactions and the infection process.
inflammatory oxidative damage can result from bacterial infection, or autoantibodies, or the presence of other toxic factors, or when inflammation reaches a critical level. Damage to the cell membrane can result in the release of cell contents into the extracellular environment. The cell contents can include proteases, other degradation enzymes and acidic intracellular components. The release of the cellular contents into the extracellular environment can result in further damage to cell membranes and the intracellular matrix. Moreover, the acidic shift in local pH can alter the peroxidase activity of superoxide dismutases and other proteins with similar structural and catalytic properties [3-4].
Conditions involving inflammation and inflammatory damage are of ever increasing importance. Levels of heart disease and diabetes are steadily increasing, driven, in part by high levels of obesity.